The Devil Is Beautiful
by The Dead Masquerade
Summary: All Rudy Hopkins wanted to do was protect his daughter from the secrets that Mystic Falls held but he had no idea that the decision he made had put her right in the middle of something far worse than he could have ever imagined. Bonnie x Tate. Set before season 1 of TVD and half way season 1 of AHS
1. Beginning

_**3 Months Ago**_

"Don't think I don't know what you're planning," Sheila Bennett made no effort to conceal the anger that laced her tone.

The person she loved most in the world's father or not, the elder woman has never done anything to spare the feelings of Rudy Hopkins.

"It was never my intention to hide any of this from you, Sheila," Rudy responded with a sigh and closed the lid of his laptop to meet her furious eyes. "I have every intention to let you visits Bonnie as much as you wish."

Sheila let out a scoff and folded her arms over her chest. "Oh, how kind of you," she spat out with false gratitude, "allowing me the privilege to visit my own granddaughter whenever I feel like it."

"Sheila…" Rudy sighed with exasperation and rubbed his hand over his brow. He knew his mother-in-law wouldn't take kindly to this news but he had hoped she would understand that he only had the best interest of Bonnie at heart.

"I cannot believe you would even consider moving her away from here, away from me," Sheila said and moved closer to Rudy. "You know this is a delicate time for her. You know what will be happening to her within a matter of months."

Rudy nodded his head. He knew exactly what would be happening to his daughter in just a short period of time and that was exactly the reason why he had decided to move the both of them away from this town and all its supernatural secrets. It was for her own safety and for his peace of mind.

He had lost Abby to the craft and he'd be damned if he lost his only daughter as well, and if Sheila couldn't accept that then that was her problem. Bonnie was his daughter, not hers.

"You have no idea the mistake you will make by moving her away from here," Sheila said and Rudy could see the fire dancing around in those dark orbs that reminded him so much of his ex-wife. "She will need me," her tone softened at the mention of Bonnie. "She won't know what's happening to her and you won't be able to control what happens to her."

"Like I said before, you are more than welcome to come and visits Bonnie but she is not staying here and that is final. You cannot change my mind about it," Rudy said firmly before he re-opened the lid to his laptop and returned to his house hunting – ending the discussing with Sheila without another word.

His eyes never left the screen until he heard Sheila let out a frustrated sigh and turned around to leave the house. When he heard the front door slam he let out yet another sigh, closed his laptop and ran a hand over his head.

He didn't know if moving himself and Bonnie away from Mystic Falls was the greatest idea but he knew that this town harboured dangerous secrets and somehow witches always found themselves in the middle. He wouldn't allow that to happen to Bonnie. He wanted his daughter to live a long and happy life without the danger that being a witch would expose her to.

He didn't want to move her away from her grandmother either, he knew the two of them shared a bond stronger than no other but he didn't have any other option. He just wished Sheila could understand why he had to do this.

_**xxx**_

_**Present Day**_

"See?" Bonnie's dad's voice called out as she stood in front of her new 'home'. "This isn't so bad."

The house was huge; she didn't understand why they needed something so big when it was just the two of them. She recalled her dad saying something about it being half the price of every other house he looked at and she guessed he was just trying to make up for moving her away from her life that he decided to go all out - a true L.A experience with a classic Victorian house or some bogus crap like that.

Truthfully, she preferred her old house to this one. Their old house was small but it was perfect for the two of them and she felt safe when her dad travelled (and he did that a lot). Bonnie didn't think she'd get the same feeling being alone in this monstrous house while her father travelled for work.

"What's wrong with it?" she found herself asking her dad.

There was just something about it that felt off. And what was with the cheap price? Bonnie wasn't stupid, she knew when something decent sold for such a low price that meant there was something wrong with it.

She read somewhere that with houses it usually meant someone had died there and she really hoped that wasn't the case here. She had no fascination with death and had no desire to sleep were someone may have lost their life.

Bonnie heard her dad let out a chuckle. "Nothing is wrong with it," he said as he came up beside her to put his arm around her. "It's a great house, Bon," he said and gazed up at the house. "You're going to love it here."

Instead of saying what was really on her mind, she just gave her father a forced smile. She knew he knew she wasn't exactly pleased with this transition but she also didn't want to make him feel bad.

She knew that for whatever reason he had decided to move them out here, it was for her.

Bonnie looked back up at the house when the front door swung open and a small-ish, middle-aged woman in a pink suit blazer coupled with the fakest smile Bonnie had ever seen (and that includes all of Caroline's) came prancing out of the house.

"Who is that?" Bonnie questioned her father.

"It's the realtor," he told her quickly before removing his arm from around her and greeting the lady, Marcy, he called her.

"Oh, good, you're here!" she said and the sweetness in her tone matched the smile on her face. "How was the trip over here?"

"Tiring," her father replied and Bonnie silently agreed with him.

"Well, I can imagine that the two of you want nothing more than to settle in, am I right?" she smiled at the two of them and Bonnie didn't waste any pleasantries on the woman who was clearly trying too hard to be kind.

"Is everything settled?" her father asked and Marcy looked down at the papers in her hands before nodding her head.

He father had flown over to here last week to finalise everything and had the furniture sent over and set up inside, something Bonnie was very grateful for. She wanted nothing more than to sleep the rest of the day (and night) away.

Bonnie certainly didn't miss the way Marcy's eyes filled with distaste as she walked passed them and headed to her car out on the curb.

Bonnie's eyes gazed back up to the house as Marcy started babbling to her father about something and the feeling of unease began to stir in her stomach. Her eyes scanned the windows, not exactly sure what she was looking for but she just couldn't shake the feeling.

She tried to push the unease aside and tried to blame it on the unsettled feeling of being in a strange place with people she didn't know instead of the people she had grown up around.

"You ready to go inside?" her dad asked with a smile and a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded and followed him inside. She had only seen the inside in pictures on the website and from what her dad took on his phone whenever he came out here to look or to do the paperwork but photos did nothing compared to the real thing.

Sure, it wasn't exactly Bonnie's preferred style (she preferred places that were warm and cosy) but it was still beautiful.

"You're room should be all set up, but you can change it if you don't like it," he told her while she looked around the foyer, eyes scanning every possible surface.

He mistook her curiosity for awe but that was okay with her. She'd rather he think he made the right choice then think he made a mistake.

"Which room is mine?" she asked and her eyes went back to him.

She didn't bother picking a room from the pictures he had shown her so she just told him whichever was the biggest would be fine. One thing she loved about her room back home, lots of light and spacious.

Bonnie followed his directs to her room but she didn't really bother with paying too much attention to it, her bed was calling to her and she had no strength to resist its call.

She was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow.

_**xxx**_

_**1 Month Ago**_

"So you're dad's really going through with this?" Caroline questioned her with sad eyes as the three of them walked through the school hallway.

"It seems that way," Bonnie answered.

"But why, why would he move you?" Elena jumped into the conversation. She'd been awfully quiet since Bonnie broke the news to the two of them and Bonnie understood why. It wasn't long ago that Elena lost her parents and now she was leaving her too.

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what's brought this on but he's adamant about getting out of Mystic Falls."

"Has something happened?" Caroline questioned as they reached their lockers and Bonnie shrugged her shoulders again.

"I honestly don't know," she sighed and opened her locker. "But my Grams' is pissed off about it."

"I can see why," Caroline said and Elena nodded her head in agreement. "You're all she has."

She left the last bit of that sentence unsaid but Bonnie still got it. She was all her grandmother had since her mother abandoned them when she was only three. Grams had taken up the role of her mother when her own mother abandoned her and Bonnie couldn't imagine living more than a few minutes' walk from her beloved grandmother.

"It's just so random," Bonnie stressed and slammed her locker shut. "Everything is fine. I don't get why he wants to move."

Bonnie wasn't a problem child. She didn't get into trouble; she got good grades, had great friends and they lived in a great community. Why did he want her to leave all that behind?

"Where's he moving you?" Elena asked and linked her arm with Bonnie's and the three of them began to walk again.

"L.A," she answered with a hint of a scoff. "He's going this weekend to check out this old Victorian type house."

"If I wasn't so pissed I'd probably be a little jealous," Caroline said with a hint of humour.

"Well, at least you'll come out and visit me then," Bonnie grinned and bumped her hip with the blondes who giggled.

"Hell yeah, we will," she replied. "Will you show us around in your brand spanking new BMW?"

Bonnie laughed and rolled her eyes at her friend. "I'm not giving up my Prius."

_**xxx**_

_**Present Day**_

It was around nine the next morning when the daughter of the new owner finally awoke from her deep slumber. She hadn't stirred the entire afternoon and evening that she slept.

She was pretty, he found himself thinking when he first laid eyes on her and she looked peaceful sleeping soundly.

Like Violet, she had chosen to take up residence in his old room and of course he was curious of the newest living residents in the house that he even left the basement for the first time since Violet left.

They all were curious about the new owners.

Hayden –the house's newest ghost- had come in at some point probably to try and scare the poor girl but Tate told her to go away. He didn't like Hayden. She had hurt Violet and people hurting those he cared about never sat well with Tate.

"Please tell me you're not going to obsess with this one," Moira's voice flooded the room as they watched the girl grab some clothes from a bag and head to the bathroom. "It ended so well with the Harmon's," her voice was laced with sarcasm and Tate didn't appreciate it.

When Violet discovered what he was and what he had done, she freaked out and she ran. He hated the relief that was in Vivien's eyes the moment Violet told her she wanted to leave this house for good. It was what her mother wanted and once Violet decided she wanted to leave, Ben couldn't convince Vivien to stay.

And as much as he wanted to, Tate couldn't stop her when she left that very same night and he had never seen her again. He saw Ben every now and then. Vivien left him in charge of making sure the house sold and when it did Ben moved back to Boston. After the Hayden ordeal, Vivien wanted nothing more to do with her cheating husband.

"Do I have to worry about a pregnant teenage girl anytime soon or are you done with trying to appease Nora?" she continued with a spiteful tone.

Tate's fists curled at his sides as he tried to block out her voice. He knew how pissed she was at him; she had liked Vivien and hated how he had helped drive her away.

He already felt bad enough driving Violet away. He loved her and she ran from him when she discovered the truth, the truth he tries so hard to keep buried deep down – so deep that sometimes he himself forgets.

And he prefers it that way.

"I don't want to hurt anyone else," he said to Moira who rolled her eyes at him, clearly not believing him. She never did.

"I've heard you say that before," she mumbled and turned to walk out of his –or now the girl's- room but she halted just before she walked out the door. "Don't screw this up," she said with a harsh glare. "The new owner is nice; he doesn't look at me like all the other's do."

_**xxx**_

Bonnie felt refreshed after her shower and changing into clean clothes but she was starving, having not eaten anything since they arrived yesterday afternoon.

Getting food was first on her to-do list today.

She made her way downstairs after dressing and walked into the kitchen and stopped short when caught sight of the unfamiliar woman in the room.

"Oh, hello," Bonnie said cautiously as she eyed the red-headed woman who appeared to be in her late 50s wearing a traditional French maid outfit.

Her dad hired a maid? Was he serious? Why would they even need on? It's just the two of them.

She received a relatively friendly smile when the woman turned around from cleaning the benches to face her. Bonnie noticed that one of her eyes was clouded over.

"You must be Bonnie," she said but made no movements. "I'm Moira, I'm the housekeeper," she introduced herself. "Your father hired me the last time he came out here."

"But we don't need a housekeeper," Bonnie couldn't stop herself from saying. She didn't want to offend her or anything, she just didn't get why they needed a housekeeper. Neither Bonnie nor her father was messy and they cleaned up after themselves.

"Maybe not but your father believed it to be a good idea. He told me he travels quite a bit for work and this way you won't be on your own when he does," she explained to Bonnie. "And I have worked in this house for many years," she added with a tight smile.

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you then," was all Bonnie could bring herself to say, coupled with a polite smile. "Where is my dad?"

"I believe he had gone to the realtor," she answered. "Something Marcy must have forgotten him to sign. Would you like some breakfast?"

"I can make it, no need to trouble yourself." Bonnie was used to looking after herself and it felt wrong to have a stranger make her breakfast.

"Nonsense," Moira dismissed her notion. "It's what I'm here for."

"So you know the previous owners of this house?" Bonnie questioned as she sat down on one of the bar stools and watched Moira go about pulling pans and food that Bonnie didn't know her father had gotten yet.

"Which owners are you referring to?" Moira asked and looked up at Bonnie for a quick second.

Bonnie raised a brow. "There's been more than one?"

Moira nodded her head. "I have been working in this house since the 80s," she told her. "I have worked for everyone who has lived here since."

"So you kind of come with the house then," she gratefully took the cup of coffee that Moira offered her.

"Something like that," the older woman replied.

"So why'd they leave? The old owners?" Bonnie asked and took a sip of her coffee.

"They choice to divorce," she answered and pulled a carton of eggs out of the fridge. "Even when they first moved here they were having problems. The husband was a cheater." The disgust in her tone was evident.

"How about the owners before them?" she prodded the housekeeper further.

"A nice couple, sadly they too were having troubles but unfortunately it didn't end well for them," she said with sympathy.

"What happened?"

Moira turned from the stove to face her, a brow arched. "You don't know?"

Bonnie gave her a blank stare. "Know what?"

"Your father neglected to tell you," she mused and turned back to the stove. "He mustn't have wanted you to worry."

"What happened?" Bonnie leant forward on her elbows, curiosity spiking.

"It was a murder suicide," Moira told her and Bonnie felt her eyes widen.

"I knew it," Bonnie muttered to herself through the shock of hearing what had happened. "A house this nice would never go for so cheap unless someone died here."

"Your father probably didn't want to scare you by telling you of that tragedy that happened," Moira said and turned off the stove and placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her.

Bonnie gave a thankful smile for the food and Moira excused herself from the kitchen.

_**xxx**_

She didn't know the history of the house. Her father neglected to tell her that the gay guys before the Harmon's 'killed each other' and Ben never mentioned any of the other murders to the new owner. He was far too desperate to sell this house that he wasn't going to risk scaring off an interested buyer.

He had watched her converse with Moira -the latter knowing he was there the entire time- and he got a good look at her in a new light (and awake).

She was beautiful. She had dark green eyes and a pretty smile. Her hair was almost black in its damp state and her skin was an enticing colour of caramel.

He had seen Violet when she first discovered what happened in this house, she was amused by it. It interested her. But this girl seemed shock, almost frightened by what had taken place where she now calls home.

Whereas Violet was his light, she wasn't exactly light. She had a darkness inside her that made the house appeal to her but this girl –Bonnie, he heard Moira call her- was _the_ light. He saw nothing but goodness surrounding her. In a way, it almost made him protective of her. The house loved to corrupt good people and extinguish that light that shone within them. It was the house's favourite game and with the Harmon's departure so abrupt, the house was getting restless. The death of Hayden wasn't enough to sate its never-ending hunger.

**xxx**

**Oh, Rudy…not a good choice of house…..**

…**.yeaaahh another new story. I know I shouldn't but when inspiration strikes who I am to ignore? Updates for other stories are coming; I've just been very, very, extremely busy and exhausted lately.**

**Now, Bonnie and Tate? Random I know but I've been re-watching AHS and have fallen back in love with the angel faced devil and what do I do with an attractive male character? I ship them with Bonnie…**

**If you haven't figured it out already, this is pre-TVD and sort of half way season 1 for AHS. Bonnie isn't a witch just yet and she'll be sassy and strong-willed just like season 1 Bonnie! None of this season3/4 shadow of her former self Bonnie! Obvs with Tate's past, this fic is gonna be a little dark and angsty.**

**Forgive me if I don't get Tate right (he's a confusing character), but I'm putting my interpretation on him and you'll find out more about what I think as the story goes on. It'll be fast paced as I've decided on a mini-series, 5-10 chapters. Next chapters will be longer, I just don't like putting too much in the first one.**

**For the record, I am a MASSIVE Violate fan and I love Violet! So you won't get any Violet bashing from me. In a sense she will be a big part in this story, I figured since Tate loved her he won't get over her so quickly.**

**Any mistakes, I apologise for and please leave a review and tell me what you think!**

_**Next Chapter: **_

_**(Things get interesting! At least I Hope…)**_

_**Bonnie does some exploring around the house and learns more about the history of it, she and Tate officially meet, Constance pays a little visit to the new owners, Grams comes for a visit to help Bonnie settle and she gets a big surprise when she enters the house plus more!**_

**xxx**


	2. Tate

_**One Week Ago**_

It was one week until Bonnie would be leaving Mystic Falls and Caroline with help from Elena, Matt and Tyler had thrown her a massive going away party at the Lockwood mansion. Bonnie had made the mistake of telling Caroline she didn't want anything big so of course, her bubbly blonde party planner friend went all out.

And when the party died down and Tyler and Matt kicked everyone out a bit after midnight, it was just the five of them in the messy living room, lounging around on the couches

"We're gonna miss you, Bon," Matt slurred while he rest his head in Elena's lap, his eyes closing as the brunette ran her fingers lovingly through his hair. A small frown appeared on Bonnie's face as she watched the two of them. She knew that Elena was struggling with maintaining their relationship, no longer feeling the same after the tragedy that had taken place in her life. She just wished she'd tell Matt the truth.

"Don't gooo," Caroline whined from her spot next to Bonnie. She was curled up in the corner of the couch, one of the pillows clutched to her chest and her head on the armrest. "We had plans," she muttered into the pillow.

"There's still college," Bonnie replied softly as she tried not to think about all the plans the three of them had made when the first began high school; prom, prank night and of course, graduation. There was still another year before all that would take place and who knows? She might even be back by then.

If she had her way she would be but she had a feeling this was a permanent thing.

"I've always thought about college in LA," Caroline mused and stretched out her legs, accidently kicking Bonnie in the process. She gave a quick but slurred 'sorry' and moved her feet – tucking them behind her.

"You've thought about college everywhere," Tyler muttered tiredly. He was sprawled out on the floor between the two couches and Bonnie had her feet resting on his chest.

He moved the coffee table so he could put up with being her foot rest for now.

"I'll come visit you, Bon," Tyler told her and placed his arms behind his head.

Bonnie smirked. "You just want to throw a party at my new place." It was the first thing out of Tyler's mouth when she showed the five of them the new house.

"You'll need a house warming party," he grinned up at her.

"And no one to invite to it," she countered. "I'm not going to know anyone until school starts back up."

"A belated house warming party then," his grin never faded.

"Please," Caroline scoffed. "You just want to try it on with some LA girls."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that."

Bonnie shook her head and gave Tyler a gentle kick with her foot. "Feel free to throw a party, Ty, just know that you'll be the one cleaning it up and all bedrooms are off limits."

"I can work with a bathroom."

He got another kick for that.

_**Present Day**_

Bonnie had never felt more alone. She missed her friends, she missed her Grams.

It was only her second day here in LA and her father wasted no time in jumping head first into the work he had transferred from Mystic Falls. At least her father had to decency to wait for the school year to finish before pulling her away so she didn't have a new school to worry about just yet.

He had told her to go out exploring the city but she hadn't felt like it. She didn't like to do things like that on her own; it was never as good without someone there to share it with.

It was Moira's idea for her to explore the house a bit, get used to her new surroundings and since her father was taking his sweet time in getting their internet connected she figured why not, she had nothing else to do.

It wasn't even ten minutes before she got bored of that too. What exactly was the supposed to look at, the Tiffany fixtures that the realtor was completely obsessed with? It was just a house to Bonnie - a very creepy house but still a house.

She had gone down into the basement earlier that day and she didn't even last a minute down there before she nearly ran back up the steps. That feeling she got when she first arrived at the house, the moment she stepped foot in that basement that feeling multiplied by like twenty.

She didn't know what it was. Whether it was fear or something a lot more complicated but she decided to stay the hell away from the basement from now on.

The attic however, it was a different story. She had pulled down on the string and the stairs to the attic slid down.

She didn't get the same feeling she did as the basement; in fact it was the opposite. Being in there was almost comforting even though it certainly didn't look it.

The attic was dim – the only light coming from the single window at the very end of the room. The light from the sun rays showing just how much dust floated around the room. It was filled was items left behind by previous owners. Bonnie wondered why it wasn't just thrown away since most of it seemed to be junk.

Bonnie held back a sneeze from all the dust in the attic as she looked around the various vintage and antique looking items that were scattered around the creaky room. There was a child's bike, a ton of boxes, a rocking horse and various small tables and chairs and a bunch of other bits and pieces.

She did however find a small antique looking box near the edge of the room, almost hidden away by a pile of boxes and other old crap. She picked it up and took a seat on the floor before she opened it up.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anything real awesome in there like vintage jewellery and what not, just old photographs.

She pulled them out and placed the box in front of her on the floor. They were all old pictures, taken years ago, most of them being of the house. One of them was of a family of three, a husband, wife and their baby.

She turned the picture over to see if there was any writing on the back of them but there was nothing. Bonnie figured whoever they were; they obviously lived here sometime in the past. Maybe Moira would know. She had worked for the owners for the past god knows how long. Bonnie obviously didn't expect her to have worked for the family in the picture but she might know something.

History was one of Bonnie's favourite subjects and even if she wasn't overly fond of her current home, it seemed to be one of those with a rich history and that was one thing she would be interested in exploring.

Bonnie placed the rest of the photographs in the box save for that one and picked it up before she got to her feet, dusting herself off with her free hand. She was just about near the stairs when she heard a rattling from the end of the basement, near the window.

She shrugged it off, blaming it on the creaky basement and falling apart pieces of junk that filled the room. Things were bound to fall apart in here sometime.

Bonnie was still looking at the pictures when she strolled into the kitchen. "Hey, Moira, do you know – " she stopped short when she looked up and realised Moira wasn't alone in the kitchen. She was joined by another woman around the same age as the redheaded housekeeper. "Hi."

"You must be Rudy's daughter," she had a smile that gave Bonnie chills. "I met your father just this morning before he left for work."

Bonnie's eyes flickered over the woman and landed on Moira whose eyes were shooting daggers into Constance's up-do.

"Lovely man," she added with a tight smile. "I apologise for my intrusion, I was just having a quick word with my old friend, Moira here," she said and waved a hand in Moira's direction.

Bonnie waited until Constance had left the kitchen and heard her heels heading to the door before she turned back to Moira. "Are you alright?"

Moira gave a curt nod and turned around and began to empty the dishwasher.

xxx

Tate let out an internal groan when he heard the familiar Southern drawl call out his name along with the click of her heels on the steps as she descended into the dark basement.

Sometimes (no, all the time) he wished that Moira would stop the bitch from coming inside the house but much like his sister, Addie, she always found a way inside. Nothing could ever seem to keep her out.

"Tate, darling?" she called out again and Tate cringed at the false love in her tone. "It's Mama."

Yeah, no shit. No one else had a voice as annoying and grating except for his 'mother' – well except maybe for Hayden when she was chucking one of her bitch fits.

"What do you want?" he inwardly smiled when she jumped at his voice and he appeared from the shadows of the basement.

"Oh, darling, there you are," she said with her hand over her heart, the other going to her hair.

"What do you want?" he asked again. He could barely stomach the sight of her.

Her hand reached out to touch his cheek but he stepped out of the way before she made contact. She pulled back her hand and he nearly scoffed at the rejected look she wore on her face.

"I just want to see how my baby is holding up," she said with a sympathetic smile that did nothing to fool Tate and her hand fell back to her side. "I know you've been struggling."

"I'm fine," he shot at her with a dark glare. "Now leave."

"I know losing that dear Violet was difficult for you," she continued and moved away from him a bit to look around the basement. "And the good doctor too. You were making such good progress with him."

"Maybe if you had kept your face out of everything, they might still be here," he spat out hatefully, fists clenching at his sides.

Just another thing his darling mother ruined for him. Sometimes Tate couldn't help but wonder if she actually wanted him to get better. For the first time in a long while he wanted to get better but now the reason for that is gone, he sore the point of trying anymore.

"Do not blame this on me, Tate," her eyes were hard as she stared at him. "You knew what would happen if you left this house on Halloween, you knew those kids would find you. They have been looking for you for years so why would that one be any different?"

If Tate were honest, he was having one of those days where he didn't want to remember what he did. He forgot all about those five kids from the library until they showed up at the beach. He denied everything he did to them. He figured if he pretended he didn't know then maybe it would go away.

But it never will go away.

He supposed he could have admitted what he did to them while they were alone at the beach after he lead them away from Violet but he didn't want to.

"Is there a real reason you're here or do you just need to fulfil your mothering duties for the month?" The harshness in his eyes matched his voice and he had to avoid looking directly at her.

The visions were returning. Only this time he wasn't helping people move onto a better place, he was beating the shit out of a bloody Constance then leaving her for Thaddeus to finish off.

He couldn't do that. Not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't want to risk her dying on this property. None of these souls trapped here deserved the extra suffering his mother would bring if she became one of the house's permanent residents.

The afterlife was tragic enough when you were doomed to be trapped inside a killer house.

"Tate, don't be like –

"What the hell are you doing down here?" a female voice cut of his mother. Tate snapped around and saw Bonnie standing in the middle of the basement staircase, eyes trained on his mother. Cleary her presence was unwanted by her too. "I thought you left."

"Oh, Bonnie," Constance composed herself and looked straight at the teenage girl. "This is my son, Tate," she introduced him. "We were just having a quick family chat," she explained her lingering presence with a smile that had Tate rolling his eyes.

"Well, maybe you could take that family chat to your own home," she snapped and her arms crossed over her chest, not even looking his way. "Please get out of my house."

Tate didn't even bother to hide the smile that formed at how she spoke to Constance.

"Of course, how rude of me," Constance responded, not even bothering to hide the distaste she felt for being told to leave the house she believed to be rightfully hers.

Tate flinched when he felt Constance's fingers wrap around his wrist and began to lead him to the back basement door. "We'll leave through the back."

Tate turned back to her and could see the hard glare she was sending Constance's way even in the shadows of the basement and the corner of his lip turned upwards slightly.

"You should stop sticking your nose in where it's not wanted," Tate said as they rounded the corner of the house and he tore his wrist out of her grasp. "This isn't your house anymore, it never was."

This house doesn't belong to anyone; no one can control it or what it craves. Constance liked to think she could but even she knew the truth.

Tate didn't spare her another second and disappeared, going back into the basement.

xxx

"Constance?" Moira questioned when Bonnie went back into the kitchen.

Bonnie nodded. "What's her deal?" It so wasn't normal to hang out in the basement of someone else's home to have a 'family meeting'.

"She used to live here," she said. "And still believes the house belongs to her."

Bonnie groaned, just what she needed, a crazy neighbour. "Should I expect more visits from her?"

"Probably," Moira replied. "But I'll do my best to keep her away. Her presence only taints this house."

"You don't like her very much?" Bonnie asked. It was hard not to notice the disgust that Moira showed whenever the topic of Constance was brought up, not to mention the earlier look of distress on her face when Bonnie first walked into the kitchen.

"To put it mildly," Moira gave a tight smile.

"So why does she keep coming over?" Surely she wasn't that delusional to think the house was still hers when she lived next door. "She obviously has some kind of weird attachment."

"Her son died here," Moira told her and Bonnie's face dropped.

"Oh," Bonnie mouthed and suddenly began to feel bad for the woman next door but she also hated the fact that there was yet another death that had occurred in this house. "That's horrible."

"What happened, do you know?" Bonnie asked and Moira sighed, leaving the rag she was using to clean the counter top and sat on one of the stools and motioned for Bonnie to sit with her.

"It's not exactly pleasant," Moira warned and Bonnie nearly scoffed.

Someone died; of course it wasn't going to be a pleasant story.

"Constance can be a complicated woman," she started. "I can't deny that she loves her children but she showed her love in cruel, despicable ways. In 1994, she was going to be charged with child neglect of one of her children but that night she had him smothered in his sleep. She claims otherwise, says he died in his sleep and they may have believed her but no one else did."

There was a knock on the door and Moira rose from her seat. "Would you like for me to get that?" she asked and Bonnie shook her head slowly, still reeling from what she had just been told. Moira nodded and went back to wiping down the already spotless counter.

Bonnie stopped just before she left the kitchen and turned back to Moira. "Just how many people have died in this house?" she questioned cautiously.

A solemn look crossed the woman's face and her actions halted for a few moments before she continued. "Enough."

Bonnie opened the door and it took her a few moments to recognise him as Constance's son, the one with her down in the basement a few hours ago. She hadn't exactly gotten a good look at him down there what with the terrible lighting and the fact she was more focused on getting Constance out of her house but now in the light, she definitely got a good look at the boy that couldn't be much older than herself.

He was taller than she was with shaggy blonde hair that would sometimes fall into his eyes and he would push it away, eyes so dark they were almost black – they were also surrounded by bags, like he never slept and after what Moira just told her and if it was in fact true, she didn't blame him for not sleeping around Constance.

"Hi," he smiled down at her. His smile was one of those were you just couldn't help but return it. It could light up the darkest room in this house, she imagined.

"Hey, Tate, right?"

He nodded. "I just want to apologise for Constance," he said. "We used to live here and she's had a hard time letting go," he explained. "I came over to get her, found in the basement as usual," he said it like it was a casual occurrence and there was nothing strange about it. "Moira will probably keep her out from now on. She doesn't like Constance very much."

Bonnie knew he was right on that and she noted that he never once called Constance his mother, only just her name. Probably some issues there.

"It's no problem," she replied with a friendly smile.

It was a problem but Bonnie didn't really want to make enemies out of neighbours so soon. Or maybe if she did her dad would have no choice but to move them back to Mystic Falls…

But if it got any worse she'd let her dad deal with it.

"I know it probably freaked you out and I'm sorry," he apologised again, perfect smile still intact.

"It's fine," she waved him off. "Really," she gave him a reassuring smile.

"Well, I should probably get back to her," he said and half turned around, his eyes still on her. "It was nice meeting you."

xxx

Tate had hoped that if maybe he met Bonnie his curiosity would go away, he would discover she wasn't that interesting. Just a teenaged girl that didn't like strange people in her basement (boy was she in for a shock if she ever learnt the truth of this house).

It was her attitude towards Constance that pushed him to show himself to her but unlike with Violet, he couldn't just appear to her inside the house. Being treated by Ben was his cover story to why he was in there but now he had no cover story to why he lingered around the house.

He figured knocking on the door like a normal person and apologising for Constance's behaviour would be a good, less creepy start.

But his short encounter did nothing to sate his curiosity about her.

Over the next few days he began to follow her around the house, just watching her day-to-day activities inside the house but he would never show himself to her.

Everything she said or did, he couldn't help but compare her to Violet. He tried to stop because he knew they were two different people but he couldn't. He still hadn't completely let go of the only person aside from Beau, Addie and Nora that he had let into his heart.

Their style was different. Bonnie didn't wear layer upon layer of clothing, usually just a shirt with a long necklace and a pair of jeans or shorts. Her wrists were clean of scars, the razor in her bathroom not used for anything out of the ordinary and not even a hint of cigarette smoke lingered in the air.

The music she listened to didn't exactly appeal to Tate's tastes apart from the occasional song here or there

She had friends from back where she was from who she spoke to everyday. He would watch as he eyes brightened every time she got a call from one of them.

"You're a creepy little shit, you know that?" Chad appeared next to him. "First the angry little girl now this one? If you want to get laid so bad I'm sure Hayden will help."

He was sarcastic and condescending and Tate wanted to rip his tongue out and make him eat it. Some days he really regrets killing those two on the property.

"Shut your mouth before I kill you again," he threatened but it left Chad unfazed.

"That threat hasn't run dry at all," he deadpanned. "You do realise I just wake up in the basement a few minutes later. Yeah, your threat really has me shaking in my loafers."

There are only three ghosts in this house that he cannot seem to manipulate and terrify. Chad being one, the others being Patrick and Moira. He guessed the anger the two queens held for him cancelled out the fear and Moira just didn't care.

All other ghost in the house were like his puppets, he could get them to do whatever he pleased with the right words or threat. Of course there were those he would never do that to, like Beau and Nora. The ones he actually cared about.

"Why are you here?" Tate questioned through gritted teeth.

"Just checking out the new meat," he answered with hands raised in mock surrender and looked around the room. "At least I don't get second hand depression from this one and her music doesn't make me wish I could kill myself."

"If you don't shut up and get out I'll make you wish you could kill yourself," Tate growled watched Chad move around Bonnie's room, sometimes nodding his head in approval at what he saw or scrunching his nose up in distaste. His threat didn't even make him bat an eyelash.

Tate didn't like that. He liked his threats to have an impact.

"I don't see it," Chad suddenly said and turned back to face Tate.

"See what?" Tate bit with a bored expression.

"I don't see what's so special about her that it brought our resident Norman Bates Jr out of the basement for the first time in months," Chad responded with a patronizing glance. "She doesn't seem much like your type. Maybe you should leave the poor girl alone, would hate to have another family run screaming because of you - especially one with such good taste in wine."

Tate had had enough. "Go away," he commanded and Chad disappeared from sight.

He let out a relieved sigh and turned back to Bonnie but she wasn't there. She must have left the room while Tate was too busy focusing on not caving in Chad's skull with the hardest object he could get his hands on.

xxx

It was a week since Bonnie and her father had moved into the house and a week of silent observing had now given Tate a scratch he could no longer itch. He wanted to talk to her again. He wanted to get to know her. But he didn't know how.

Tate watched as Bonnie made herself comfortable in the gazebo outside that Ben had built to hide Hayden's body (and unknowing hid Moira's along with), she had her ear buds in her ears and a book in her hands as she laid on one of the benches.

He had never really appreciated Ben and his bogus profession until now. At least his charade of therapy sessions gave him the chance to wonder around the house with an excuse if he was ever caught then his relationship with Violet provided another cover for his presence.

Tate hoped if he played the role of the lonely friendless but friendly neighbour she'd be less freaked out by his presence. He waited until she took out the ear buds before he made his way from around the corner of the house.

She noticed him and he was relieved when he saw a smile cross her face.

"Hey, Tate," she greeted politely when he neared the gazebo.

"Hey, I hope you don't mine, Moira said you were out here," he gave a friendly smile. He knew Moira would cover for him if Bonnie asked any questions. Moira may hate him (and every other ghost in the house) but she would always cover for them.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine."

Tate was aware of how lonely she was beginning to feel. Her father was always working and she had no one else here and unlike Violet, Bonnie clearly didn't like to be on her own for long periods of time.

"I could actually use the company," she admitted with a sheepish smile.

"I thought as much," he grinned and sat down on the bench across from her. "You looked a little lonely from over there," he said and motioned his head over towards Constance's back yard.

"Perks of moving to a new place and knowing absolutely no one," she sighed and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"You know me," he said and gave her a friendly smile. "Well, kind of."

"Hopefully things will get better when I start school," she said with a shrug.

"What school?" Tate questioned her, almost nervous.

Bonnie took a moment before answering. "Westfield, I think my dad said. Where do you go?"

Tate shrugged. "Some stupid private school. Constance is a religious nut," he lied, well about the school thing. He avoided even telling Bonnie that he was there once like he did with Violet. Better to leave out the possibility of her asking people at Westfield about him.

He had left quite the impression there, after all.

"So you moved here with just your dad?" he asked her and she nodded her head. "Is your mother not around?" He made sure his voice was gentle in case whatever the reason was a tough subject. He hadn't seen any pictures or anything that pointed to a mother, he was curious.

"Nope. Though I pretend she did," she admitted and looked down at her feet as if she was ashamed to think like that but she had no reason to be so. "She left when I was only three."

"I get that," he smiled at her. "I was six when my dad left me and thinking he was dead was better than knowing he walked away and left me with that," he said and nodded towards Constance's house.

Though he knew that wasn't exactly the truth. When he died he found his father in the basement though the man didn't recognise him so he didn't bother with him at all. He found out that Constance had shot him the same time she shot Moira. It was all just another reason for him to hate the bitch.

"You don't like your mother?" she asked, her voice careful as if she didn't want to push any sensitive buttons he may have. "I just can't help but notice you never refer to her as such."

Tate shrugged his shoulders but gave Bonnie an easy smile that told her to relax. "Let's just say she's not going to be winning awards for being a mother of the year."

"So where're you from?" he asked her, changing the topic. He wasn't going to let the mention of Constance taint his time with Bonnie.

"Mystic Falls, it's a small town in Virginia," she answered.

"Big change. You miss it?"

"So much. I don't really like it here," she shrugged and pushed some hair behind her ear. Tate didn't know if it was out of nerves or just a habit of hers, but she tended to do that a lot.

Tate nodded his head in agreement. "I hate it here, too."

"And I miss my friends," she added with a twinge of sadness.

"Why'd you move here? It seems like you were happy there."

"I don't know. It was my dad's idea," she said with a shrug. "He never really gave me a good reason for it."

"Bonnie, I need you in here for a sec!" they heard Bonnie's father yell out from the back door. He must have only just gotten home. Either way, Tate hated the interruption. He was enjoying himself and his time with Bonnie.

He felt himself give a little smile when he heard Bonnie let out an annoyed groan and pull herself up from the seat.

"I should go," she said and brushed off the invisible dust from her shirt and shorts. "Maybe we can hang tomorrow?" she asked him, her hopefulness having Tate's small smile turning into a full grin.

"Yeah," he nodded almost too eagerly. "Sure."

Bonnie gave him a lasting smile and turned towards the house. Tate watched as she walked away but noticed she had left behind her iPod (he had learnt what they were from Violet) and her book on the bench.

He quickly gathered up her things and called out her name. "You forgot these," he said and closed the distance between them to hold the items out to her.

"Oh," she laughed softly. "Thank you," she said and reached out for her things, their fingers brushing.

All Tate wanted was the take her hand fully in his and just hold it in his. Her skin was soft and warm. But she didn't seem to have the same reaction as he did. Tate noticed she tensed up and her eyes closed quickly as a shudder when through her body, like she had gotten an electric shock.

Tate tilted his head in confusion when her eyes snapped open and she pulled her hand away from his, her things falling to the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked carefully, not too sure what just happened.

"Uh…yeah," Bonnie quickly composed herself before bending down to gather up her things. "I'm really sorry about that, I don't…I don't know what that was…" she was avoiding all eye contact with him as she turned back to the house leaving Tate alone to wonder what the hell just happened.

"I do wish you'd stay away from her," Moira appeared next to Tate after Bonnie had gone back inside. "And keep your mother out of this house."

Constance had paid them all another visit since that last time, thankfully Bonnie and her father had been out when she did.

"What do you want me to do, kill her?" Tate shot back. Not that he would mind killing Constance, in fact it was one of his top fantasies but he couldn't leave this property and there was no way he was going to kill her so her spirit could live on and torture him for the rest of eternity. "And I'm not going to stay away from Bonnie," he added. "I like her."

Moira let out a short scoff. "Yes, and we all know what happens to people you like."

xxx

"Who was that outside?" her dad asked when she got inside the house and met him in the kitchen.

"Tate," she answered. "He's Constance's son."

"Right, Constance," he drawled out and Bonnie let out a laugh.

"You got that vibe, too huh? Anyway, her son is really nice."

"Really nice, huh?" he wiggled his eye brows at her from across the bench.

"Ugh, dad, no, stop," she groaned and ran her hand over her face. "What did you need help with?"

Her dad let out a sigh before he answered. "No, nothing I need help with. I just wanted to talk." He said and sat down next to her. "I haven't exactly been here to help you since we got here so I just want to know how you're doing."

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Not exactly settled but It's only been a week."

"It'll take time," he nodded. "I hate that I pulled you away from everything back home but I do need you to understand that it was for the best and you'll understand what I'm talking about one day."

"And that does nothing to lessen my confusion," she gave him a smile. "But okay. I will make the effort for you."

"That's all I ask," he said and placed his hand on her knee. "I just want you to be happy and if you let yourself, I think you could be here. Things will start to fall into place for you when you start school and meet people."

"I just wish I knew people now," she muttered.

Her father's ringtone sounded throughout the kitchen and Bonnie knew it had to be business. It always was. As always, her father excused himself and picked up the phone from the counter top.

It seems even in new places old habit die hard.

Bonnie let out a long sigh after her dad left the kitchen to take the call in his office and she tried to figure out what the hell had happened outside with Tate. She didn't know what the hell it was and it had never happened before. As soon as she touched him it was like a shock had ran through her entire body, but it was cold - freezing her to her core.

But that wasn't all.

She saw something. Glimpses of faces. Terrified, pleading faces that turned Bonnie's stomach. They were begging for their lives and she had the feelings that whoever they were pleading with didn't listen.

It was weird. That coupled with the constant feeling of dread she felt whenever she was in the house. It couldn't be normal. It couldn't. It was like something was trying to tell her something and she couldn't help but think back to the morning before she and her father left for the airport.

She had spent the night at her grandmother's and that morning she had begun telling some cryptic message that left her insanely confused. She just figured the rum from the night before hadn't cleared her system yet but now she figured there was more to it.

Bonnie picked up the phone they had in the kitchen and dialled the familiar number before she held the phone to her ear and waiting for her to pick up.

"Hello?" the instantly calming sound of her Gram's voice flowed through the speaker.

"Hey Grams, it's me," she said. "I think I'm being to understand what you told me before I left."

**xxx**

**Just a little thing I noticed while writing this the timeline for each show didn't exactly match up so please read this: So school in America ends in like June, right? (I'm Australian and we have a completely different school year we start in Feb and end in Dec). So we'll set it around there which would put Halloween on AHS the previous year so Violet and Vivien have been gone for a while. Make sense? Yes? Awesome. If not, sorry!**

**Also, please excuse Tate's homophobic mouth in this, I don't like writing those terms but that's how he was in the show so….**

**Thank you all so much for the feedback!**

**Any mistakes in this are all mine and pretty please leave a review!**

**A lot more Bonnie and Tate in the next one and sorry but I have postponed Grams' visit.**


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